2024-2025 Colorado Avalanche Grades: Defenseman

In honor of finals week wrapping up at my university a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to look back at the individual performances of each Colorado Avalanche player and “grade” their regular season performances, starting with the defenseman. For the sake of making my life a lot easier, we’re going to be looking at all the forwards that were on the team post-trade deadline, and we’re looking at their regular season performances in particular because we’ve dissected a lot of the playoffs already. That all being said, let’s jump right into it!

Samuel Girard (GP: 73 G: 3 A: 21 P: 24)

Honestly, I might be alone in this opinion, but Girard had a pretty nice season overall. While he’s certainly not a prolific goalscorer, nor has he ever been, for that matter. But you don’t need him to be that for you. He’s proven himself to be a steady distributor consistently year after year, and this season was no different for him. Not to mention that he was a monster on the penalty kill throughout this season for the Avs as well. Sure, he still might have his moments that aren’t pretty, but that’s why he’s utilized in a lesser role than on the top pairing. For all the good he did for Colorado this season, I’d give his regular-season performance a solid B+, personally.

Erik Johnson (GP: 14 G: 1 A: 1 P: 2)

While Johnson’s point total might be considered insignificant in the grand scheme of things, there is no denying the positive emotional lift that him coming back to Colorado had on the fanbase. Given where he is at this point in his career, the few games he did play in Colorado weren’t incredibly horrible by any stretch of the imagination. Between him still being able to contribute in an incredibly limited role and the emotional impact he had in his return to Colorado, I’d give his season with the Avs a B+ as well. Sometimes the impact a player can have on a team isn’t always visible on the scoresheet, and Johnson is a perfect example of that, in my opinion.

Ryan Lindgren (GP: 18 G: 2 A: 1 P: 3)

I liked what Lindgren brought to this Avs team when he was brought over from the New York Rangers. There’s no denying that Lindgren had a bit of a rough time in New York, but that was a lot due to his improper utilization on the top pairing with Adam Fox. In Colorado, he was put in a much more appropriate role, in my opinion, and played pretty well overall. I’d give his season a B-, as his regular season wasn’t anything special by any means, but he was perfectly fine in the role he was asked to play for the Avs.

Cale Makar (GP: 80 G: 30 A: 62 P: 92)

What else is there to say about Makar that hasn’t been said already? The guy is just on an entirely different planet. Year in and year out, he’s continuously proven that he’s one of the best defenseman in the NHL, if not the best defenseman in the NHL, and this season was no different. Not only did he set a new single-season career high in points with 92 in the regular season, but he also became the first defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since Mike Green did during the 2008-2009 season. I don’t know how you can give Makar’s regular season anything other than an A+, he continues to do everything that’s asked of him and more in an incredibly impressive fashion.

Sam Malinski (GP: 76 G: 5 A: 10 P: 15)

Malinski’s sophomore season in the NHL went very well, in my opinion. He’s proven to be a steady, reliable NHL-caliber defenseman who can eat up minutes for you night in and night out. He’s pretty consistently a steady defender with the ability to contribute offensively as well, which is exactly what we saw from him this year. Overall, I’d give his season a B+.

Josh Manson (GP: 48 G: 1 A: 14 P: 15)

Manson’s season was a bit of a different story compared to some of the other defenseman, since he was injured for a good chunk of the regular season. When he did play, he certainly had good moments, but the lows were also really low, or that’s what it felt like at times anyway. I still believe that he’s someone who can contribute valuable minutes to this team, but this season was just a bit of an odd one, given his injury and whatnot, and for that, I have to give his regular season a C.

Keaton Middleton (GP: 41 G: 0 A: 2 P: 2)

There isn’t a lot to talk about on the offensive side of Middleton’s season, since he only had two assists, but offensive production isn’t what you primarily expect out of him. You expect him to be reliable defensively and have more of an impact in that regard, which I thought he did this season. For that, I’m giving him a B, as he usually played just fine in the role that you asked him to play for this Colorado team.

Devon Toews (GP: 76 G: 10 A: 34 P: 44)

And last but not least, we have Toews, who I thought had a really solid year. He’s been a perfect defensive pairing partner for Makar, and continues to be that year in and year out. He’s always reliable and someone who’s proven that he can eat up big minutes for the team as well. I’d give his regular season an A personally, given how consistent he was, how consistent he continues to be, and just how well he fits into this team overall.